Italy Local government representatives said the Pisa Tower, which has just turned 850 years old, is "very sturdy" to this day.
"The bell tower remains a solid monument today," Andrea Maestrelli, president of the Opera della Primaziale Pisana (OPA), the body that oversees the cathedral complex that includes Pisa, said on August 9, marking the 850th anniversary of the round tower. The monitoring group's latest report "highlights that the tilt has decreased by about 460 mm," Maestrelli added, adding that the tilt has returned to its level at the beginning of the 19th century.
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is located in the city of the same name, Tuscany, Italy. Photo: Thinkstock
The Italian government was worried that the tilt of Pisa could cause the entire tower to collapse. In the early 1990s, the tower was measured to be leaning 4.5 degrees, prompting the government to seek a solution. Work to stabilize the tower took eight years, starting in 1993.
Experts now say the future of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is "very bright" as it is fitted with a ground-based monitoring system, with satellites tracking the slightest changes to the tower. The move makes the tower one of the most closely monitored monuments in the world.
The first stone of the tower was laid on August 9, 1173. It was not until the third floor that the tower began to lean to the north. One of the reasons for the leaning tower is the geographical characteristics of the city of Pisa itself, with soft soil, mainly composed of mud, sand, and clay. Construction of the tower was interrupted until 1275 and completed in the mid-14th century.
Several other buildings in Pisa also lean due to being built on soft ground, including the 12th-century church of San Nicola to the south of the leaning tower and the church of San Michele degli Scalzi to the east of the tower.
Pisa is now one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Tuscan city. The tower welcomes more than five million visitors a year.
Anh Minh (According to CNN )
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